We Matter: Improving Children and Young Peoples Mental Health Services in Oldham
This review was undertaken as a joint project with Rochdale, Bury and Trafford Healthwatch. As a result, two reports will be produced; one compares the key findings across the combined areas and will be published shortly, whilst this report provides a more detailed insight into the experiences of families accessing services in Oldham.
At a Glance:
A total of 90 families took part in the review and these are some of the key messages:
- 70% of parents felt that Healthy Young Minds offered a very professional service with high levels of confidentiality and trust between the clinician and young person.
- Waiting times for referrals to Healthy Young Minds can be too long with 29% of young people waiting more than 3 months for their first appointment.
- Almost 50% of professional have identified improvements in young people’s mental health services over the last year.
- Families have mixed views about how well different therapies work and some struggle to find the right support the first time.
- There is a lack of provision for young people with a dual mental health and autism spectrum condition.
The report sets out a series of recommendations which will be presented to both commissioners and providers of Children and Young People’s Mental Health Services and discussed at the Council’s Health Scrutiny Committee. Following these discussions we will include an update on the website and through our e-bulletin to let everyone know what changes have been made as a result of the feedback from families in Oldham.
If you want to find out more about this review, please contact Gaynor Keane at gaynor.keane@healthwatcholdham.co.uk
